Gina's in Altamonte Springs

We are having a grad night family dinner at Gina's in Altamonte Springs. It's been around awhile, but is new to us. Is is any good? What is the atmosphere like? What do you recommend? Better yet, what do we avoid? Just a little infor would be heopful.

I went there once for lunch. It's a nice enough place -- casual but not in a loud, garish "party bar" kind of way, like a Friday's or a Bennigan's. The menu selections are similar to a place like that, but I imagine they'd be a bit more expensive. When I went, they had a limited lunch menu so I didn't see everything they offer. It's a pretty room, though, and if it's a cool enough evening, they have nice tables outside. I think it would be a good choice for a celebratory family dinner. I haven't been back just because I crave spicier, more ethnic, more exotic -- but for your purposes, it should be just fine.

With your criteria, and a quick review of the listings in Winter Park/Maitland and Altamonte, I'd say there's nothing I can think of that would fit your needs any better than Gina's.

On you list of options, I would include the Crazy Buffet, an upscale, Asian-influenced, all-you-can-eat buffet in Altamonte; Buca di Beppo, a family style Italian resturant in Maitland and Sam Seltzer's, a moderately-priced, family-style steakhouse in Altamonte on 436.

A few others that might work would include the Habana Grill, a Latin restaurant with a Cuban influence; the Cheesecake Factory in Winter Park Village; Kobe Steakhouse, a Japanese steakhouse on 436 west of I4; Mimi's Cafe, also on 436 in Altamonte; Straub's for really good seafood and Tony Roma's, a chain that features ribs and steaks.

All have a full bar (ecept possibly Mimi's) and should be able to handle a party of 12 with some advance notice. Prices are all in the moderate range.

Hope that helps. Let us know if you need any more specifics on any of these, and how things turn out.